Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Stress is all around, and it is a major concern in the majority of people today. Besides unhealthy food, which physically depreciates, causing psychological effects, there are numerous stress generating sources. The biggest that I've seen, and also felt recently, is money. Money, quite simply, is a hassle. I'm not saying money is a bad thing, it's purpose and intent are constructive and efficient in structurally maintaining prosperous economies.

It is the use, distribution, and value of money that has become a problem. We, the people, are trained to first learn how to walk, then communicate, then we go through a corporate..., err, federally implemented education system (in which our minds are closed to the theories and information we are taught) and then it is up to us to work our asses off, forty hours a week, and with wages that are, in a lot of cases (especially today), nearly impossible to live off of (especially if debt is taken into consideration). If you are one who decides to get a higher level of education (I made that choice) you are offered higher paying jobs. Once you spend your few thousand to few hundred thousand on educational fees, you graduate so many years into your adulthood, forced to find any job to pay back the loans from school. We work until the age of 65, in which we retire, feeble and rundown, unable to fully grasp the joys of life, especially since so many people have been forced to stress on surviving, rather than living. Not to mention, all the wear and tear from food, fluoridated water, and unhealthy living conditions.

While millions, billions of people slave away, every day, all day, just to make ends meet, there are thousands, probably hundreds of thousands, of individuals, organizations, corrupt "Authority officials" reaping the benefits, become billionaires, and no sharing a dime with the needy. In fact, in most cases, these "organizations" and "Authority figures" have caused mass death, or allowed it to take place. They have even occupied, or sponsored occupations, in mineral and oil rich nations. The problem isn't necessarily money, its where it is, who has it, and how much they have. All of it has to do with corruption and greed. Money isn't the only reason I've been stressing, but its been a big contribution. Logically, I think there's something wrong with what the definition of money is today, simply, it should be worth more than it is. It's value should actual have meaning, real definitive importance.

Recently, while stumbling around on YouTube and GoogleVideo, I came across and interesting video that discussed the imagery of food. There is a simple difference between nutritious, healthy food and that of unhealthy, even nauseating, junk that most of us, on a rather constant basis, fill our body with. The problem doesn't fully lay on the amount that is consumed, although the majority of people eat way too much of it. The problem is more logically involved in the portrayal, availability and in retrospect demand of both.

"Junk food" is everywhere, at every corner, in every direction. Where ever you gaze there is a McDonalds, Wendy's, or some form of fast food joint located in the vicinity. Not only is it such an available option for meals or snacks, the media , and especially lately, has always featured the biggest, richest of the fast food chains. Not only are they featured on the most watched programs and events, they are also given appealing images, including sexuality, to feed their addictiveness (and they are, quite literally, addictive).

One of my favorite moments in the following documentary is when the term "Soul Food" is used to describe healthy, wholesome food. It make sense. And there's a reason why one group is referring to the Soul, while the other is called Junk. Each food group gives our body different reactions. There is a reason why fresh vegetables and fruit are so full of vitamins and minerals, important to our body. Just like, for centuries, people have made mention of a rather "lighter, small" consumption of meat. Religion, throughout history, have shown corresponding messages. Now, think about processed foods, literally, food is being "processed." It becomes semi(in some cases fully)-artificial, simulated nourishment. There is simply and logically a difference between the negative reactions from unhealthy, Junk food, and the positive reactions from healthy, Soul food.